Drew Allar: 3 Fast Facts, 2 Bold Predictions for 2024 season

Penn State’s 2024 season aspirations will ultimately fall on QB1 this fall. Despite tying for the Big Ten league in passing touchdowns and finishing in the top four in most statistical categories, Drew Allar faced heavy criticism for his struggles against Ohio State and Michigan.

Penn State Football, Drew Allar — Penn State Nittany Lions Quarterback Drew Allar (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

Heading into 2024, however, Allar and Company have a new offensive coordinator known for his creativity and getting the most out of his players.

Will Allar and the Nittany Lions take a step forward to once again compete for a Big Ten Championship and earn their first college football playoff appearance?

Here are three facts and two predictions regarding Drew Allar in 2024.

Three Facts about Drew Allar

Drew Allar, Penn State Football — Penn State quarterback Drew Allar (Image via York Daily Record)

Drew Allar is the third five-star quarterback ever to sign with Penn State and the 13^th best recruit for the Nittany Lions all-time.

Drew Allar ranked number three in the country and the top quarterback according to 247 Sports ranking of the 2022 class.

However, according to the composite ranking, Allar finished as the number 32 overall recruit in his class. Trailing only Anthony Morelli and Christian Hackenberg, Allar hopes to buck the trend of elite quarterback prospects that don’t have their careers live up to the five-star hype.

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Drew Allar grew up an Ohio State fan.

Long before becoming the starting quarterback for Penn State, Drew Allar grew up an Ohio State fan in Medina, Ohio, about an hour and a half away from Columbus.

Luckily for Penn State, Allar’s Ohio State offer did not come until long after he had been locked in with the Nittany Lions. With Allar now wearing the blue and white, he will look to knock off the Ohio State Buckeyes for the first time since 2016 for Penn State.

Tied for the lowest number of interceptions among QBs with 200 pass attempts last season.

Drew Allar was extremely safe with the football in 2023, throwing only two interceptions all season.

The two interceptions tied with Florida State’s Jordan Travis for the least among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts. Allar’s lack of turnovers certainly helped keep the Penn State defense out of tough situations in 2023, leading to Penn State having one of the best statistical years in its history.

Two Predictions for Drew Allar in 2024

Drew Allar breaks Penn State’s Season Passing Touchdown Record

In his first year as Penn State’s starting quarterback, Drew Allar passed for an impressive 25 touchdowns while throwing only two interceptions.

However, there is still plenty of room for improvement in year two for Allar, after completing less than 50 percent of his passes in five games in 2023 and recording zero touchdown passes in two games. If Allar can take a step forward in 2024 under Kotelnicki, he could smash Penn State’s season passing touchdown record.

Trace McSorley set the record for Penn State in 2016 with 29 touchdown passes en route to Penn State’s last Big Ten Championship.

Allar could hit 30+ touchdowns if the offense under Kotelnicki is as good as advertised.

Drew Allar breaks Penn State’s completion percentage record

Despite not completing more than 50 percent of his passes in five games last season, Allar has the fourth-best completion percentage in Penn State history, trailing Sean Clifford, Daryll Clark, and Will Levis. Projecting Allar to throw approximately 400 passes in 2024 (Allar attempted 389 in 2023), Allar would need to complete 63.5 percent of his passes to break the record. Kansas’ quarterbacks have accomplished that feat on average in each of the past two seasons.

Allar will need to take a step forward in Kotelnicki’s offense, but the former five-star quarterback from Ohio could leave Penn State with the all-time completion percentage record.

Penn State will lean heavily on Drew Allar in 2024 in hopes that the former five-star prospect can deliver the Nittany Lions their first college football playoff birth.

If my predictions come true, Penn State should have the opportunity to compete in the college football playoff this fall before Drew Allar declares as a top prospect in the 2025 NFL draft.